Chrysler's Using Oculus Rift To Put You Inside A Car As It's Built

It seems a test drive just isn't enough to sell customers on a new car these days. So to help promote the new Chrysler 200, the automaker partnered with Wieden+Kennedy Portland, Stopp and MPC Creative to produce an Oculus Rift virtual reality experience that gives buyers not only a tour of the car, but the process of how it was designed and built.

The four-minute experience called Beneath the Surface (teased above) takes advantage of the Oculus Rift DK2 headset to give potential customers a detailed look at all the parts that go into the Chrysler 200, from the inside out, as well as the quality control steps that ensure the vehicle's warranty isn't going to be immediately needed.

And the use of Oculus Rift as a selling tool doesn't just provide a unique look at a vehicle that would otherwise be impossible with a model sitting on a showroom floor. As the VR headsets become more and more commonplace in homes, they give automakers a chance to let potential buyers take cyber test drives of countless vehicles without the pressure of a salesperson floating around. They could even allow more progressive dealerships to give test drives of a competitor's product, allowing them to point out exactly why a car from the automaker they represent is clearly the better choice. Now we just need a way to infuse VR with that new-car smell. [Vimeo via designboom]